Our experts answer two vital questions for your life in Belgium: on retirement issues and the dos and don'ts of the residential lease.

Re: registration of a lease contract

Dear Sir/Madam,

In the past it was recommended that you as a tenant should register the lease contract of your appartement/house. Somebody told me that due to a change in the law this now became responsilility of a landlord. Is it true?

Kind regards,
Leena Koivu-Kulmala

Dear Madam,
 
I refer to your email of 13 February 2008 with regard to your question regarding the registration of a residential lease contract.
 
I hereby confirm that it is indeed correct to state that it is up to the landlord to register new residential lease contracts as from 1 January 2007 whereas before the registration of such residential lease contract was an obligation of both parties (tenant and landlord). The registration itself for these contracts is for free as from 1 January 2007.
 
The landlord must register new residential lease contracts within two months after signing the contract by both parties. Ongoing residential lease contracts which are signed by both parties before 1 January 2007, should have been registered (for free) before 1 July 2007. A fine of 25 EUR is due in case the landlord did not register the residential lease contract within due time (i.e. 1 July 2007).
 
By lack of registration of a residential lease contract by 1 July 2007 and as long as this residential lease contract has not been registered, the tenant can terminate the residential lease contract at any time without having to respect any notice period or indemnity. This sanction is however not applicable to concluded residential lease contracts for a determined period of maximum three years.
 
I hope that this answer meets your requirements.
 
Kind regards, 
 
 
Olivier Malisse
 

Re: temporary resident permit requirements are difficult

My husband and I are U.S. Citizens,with valid passports and both retired. He is of Belgium descent and after vacationing in Belgium a couple of years ago
for a week, we have decided we would like to live in Belgium for 6 months to a year.

We can meet all the requirements for applying for a temporary resident permit except the one that says we need letters of recommendation from Belgium citizens. How do we meet that requirement since we don't know anyone in Belgium? How do other retired people who don't plan on working but merely want to live there for a time accomplish this?
Thanking you now for any help or direction you can provide,
Rosemary Feys

Dear Rosemary,

As a foreign national without being gainfully employed you are entitled to settle in Belgium on condition that you:

- have sufficient means of subsistence and
- have sufficient links with Belgium.
 
If one of the 2 conditions is not complied with, the visa will not be issued.

Basically, you will need to apply for a visa type D with the Belgian consular authorities of your place of residence abroad. The visa application can take a few months. Upon receipt of the visa, you can travel to Belgium, settle and obtain a Belgian residence card.

When applying for a visa, you need to present the following documents in person at the embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence:

1. A travel document (e.g. national passport) valid for at least 12 months, in which a visa can be affixed.

2. Two  visa application forms duly completed, signed and accompanied by two recent passport photos bearing a true likeness to the applicant.

3. A medical certificate filled out by a doctor approved by the Belgian embassy or consulate and dated no more than six months prior to the date of application.

4. An extract from your judicial record dating from no more than six months prior to the date of application and covering the previous five years.

5. Proof of sufficient means of subsistence that will allow you to live in Belgium without the need to engage in any sort of gainful employment and proof that your income and funds can be transferred to Belgium.

6. Serious character references from trustworthy persons residing in Belgium.

7. Proof that you have ties with Belgium. These ties with Belgium need to be proved through previous residence in Belgium, presence of friends in Belgium, recommendation letters from previous colleagues...

The documents listed above are merely the basic documents required in all cases. Additional documents may be requested by the embassy or consulate.

Once the submitted documents have been verified and the application is complete, the embassy or consulate will send it to the Immigration Service at the Federal Public Service Home Affairs in Belgium, which will then decide whether or not to issue a visa.

Within the 3 month validity period of the visa, you will need to register with a Belgian commune. The Belgian commune will provide you with a Belgian residence card, valid for 1 year. This residence card can be extended each year after providing proof of sufficient funds/earnings.

Best regards,
Matthias

 

Lawyers Lynn Bogaert and Matthias Lommers work for Belgian law firm Laga, located at www.laga.be or contactable by phone: 02 800 7000.

To have your questions answered on Expatica, you can send an email to feedback@expatica.com.

Disclaimer: Although we verify the reliability of the information given, such information is general and neither Laga nor Expatica may be held responsible in any way for any possible error that might occur or for any use or interpretation that could be made of this information without the assistance of Laga.

[Copyright Laga and Expatica 2008]
Subject: Expat legal